


Allergies

by anythingbutplatonic



Category: Glee
Genre: AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-10
Updated: 2015-06-10
Packaged: 2018-04-03 19:07:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4111795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anythingbutplatonic/pseuds/anythingbutplatonic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anonymous prompted: crazy cat horder and frustrated-allergic-to-cats neighbor au pleeeeaaassee oh man. Originally posted on Tumblr April 25th 2015.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Allergies

This was getting out of hand.

The first time had been pretty easy to handle; Blaine had simply avoided his neighbour as much as he could, always carried tissues and hand sanitizer in his pocket, and tried not to get too close on the off-chance that he did bump into him and they - well,  _he_  - exchanged shy pleasantries while they fetched their mail from the communal mailboxes in the foyer of the building.

The second time had been more difficult, because now there was twice as much of a possibility that whenever Blaine saw Kurt - his neighbour - he would be reduced to a coughing/sneezing/wheezing fit and would have to make some excuse to get away before violated several health and safety codes.

The third time, Blaine didn’t leave his apartment for a whole week.

And now Kurt had gone and got himself  _another_  cat, which brought his total up to four. 

Blaine was never leaving his apartment again.

It was nothing short of a nightmare, having a neighbour with four cats, because Blaine was allergic to them. It wasn’t something he particularly liked - he considered himself an animal lover and a friend to all pets, and almost always stopped to pet the dogs he came across in the street, in exchange for their enthusiastic sniffing of his shoes and whatever beverage or snack he happened to be holding - but the fact of the matter was that Blaine was allergic to cats. They made him cough and sneeze and find it hard to catch his breath. And now Kurt had four of them.

One afternoon, Blaine had been in the process of locking the door of his apartment on his way out to meet Sam, his best friend, for burgers and milkshakes at a diner a few blocks from where he lived when Kurt had appeared, coming out of his own apartment some way down the hall and carrying a large cardboard box in his hands. 

Normally, Blaine would have rushed over to help him, offering to carry the box while he locked his door and even carry it down the stairs, if Kurt hadn’t minded, but since he’d ran out of allergy medicine that morning, he didn’t trust himself not to start violently sneezing as soon as he was within proximity to Kurt, and he’d be no use to him then.

But he saw Kurt visibly struggling with the box and his keys and his bag and what he was sure was a thermos and his instinct to offer help won out over the part of his brain that was telling him this was a terrible idea, unless Kurt found random men sneezing all over him attractive. 

Because that was the final link in the chain that was the neighbour-with-four-cats fiasco that Blaine had found himself in; he  _liked_ Kurt. He liked his meticulously-styled hair and his laugh and his penchant for scarves and his bluest of blue eyes. 

He had a crush on Kurt. A big one. And if that wasn’t the most ironic thing in the world, then Blaine was much more naive than he thought he was. 

Trust him to get a crush on a cat-lover with multiple feline companions when he was allergic to them.

That aside, he abandoned all thought of his allergies as he crossed the narrow hallway to where Kurt had his keys in between his teeth, his thermos in one hand and the box in the other, currently deciding on which one to put down so that he could lock his apartment door. He appeared to be in quite the predicament.

“Hey, let me help you with that,” Blaine called out as he neared him, reaching out his hands to take the box from him. It was moderately heavy, and Blaine stumbled slightly under the unexpected weight, but Kurt shot him a grateful look as he pulled his keys from between his teeth.

“Oh my God, thank you!” he said gratefully, “I had no idea how I was going to manage carrying that,  _and_  my coffee, and this bag. I thought that I could have put it down, but it’s sort of heavy and I didn’t want to spill any coffee because I’m not sure if the cap on this thermos is screwed on properly….” Kurt collected himself, going pink high on his cheekbones. “I’m sorry. I’m babbling. I’ll just - you know -” He fumbled with the lock on the door, having to try twice to get the key in. 

Blaine stood awkwardly at his side, trying not to breathe in too deeply lest he be set off on another coughing/sneezing fit. The pink in Kurt’s cheeks stood out against the rest of his pale face, drawing attention to his high cheekbones and strong jaw, the pretty profile of his face. 

Had it been his imagination, or did Kurt seem nervous around him? 

“All done!” Kurt announced, pocketing his key. “Thank you. It’s Blaine, right?”

“Yeah,” Blaine replied. “Blaine Anderson. And you’re Kurt Hummel.” 

“I am indeed,” Kurt said. “I think I’ve got enough hands to manage now.” He reached out for the box, which in hindsight was probably Blaine’s cue that he should make as speedy an exit as possible, because he could feel his nose begin to tickle and itch from spending too long in Kurt’s company. 

Except he wasn’t fast enough, and succumbed to a sneezing fit just as he went to hand the box to Kurt, sending his hands flying up to cover his nose and mouth and the box crashing to the floor.

“I’m -  _achoo!_  - so sorry, I’m so -  _achoo!_  - I’m not usually this clumsy I swear.  _Achoo!”_

 _“_ Are you okay?” Kurt asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. His palm was warm, even through Blaine’s t-shirt, and something seemed to bloom inside Blaine’s chest, which ached with the force of his sneezes. 

“Yeah, I - well, this is going to sound ridiculous. I’m allergic to cats.” Blaine explained, throwing up his hands. “I’m allergic to cats and - and you have four of them.”

To his complete surprise, Kurt started laughing. “Oh my God, Blaine, why didn’t you ever say anything? I just thought you kept avoiding me all the time because you didn’t like me.” 

“I do like you,” Blaine said. “I like you a lot. It’s just kind of difficult to be around you because of all the - you know….”

“Cat hair?” Kurt provided, and Blaine nodded. 

“Yeah. It sucks, because I’m sure your cats are lovely and very well-behaved because, you know, they’re your cats and you’re very lovely and well-behaved…” 

_Oh God, did he really just say that?_

_“_ Oh, sweetie,” Kurt replied, “you should have said something. I don’t want to make you sick.”

“I have allergy medicine,” Blaine said. “But I’m actually out and I need to get more, so that’s why I’m sneezing all over the place. Sorry. And - oh! I dropped your box!” Blaine suddenly remembered, crouching down to examine it. He looked up at Kurt. “I hope there was nothing fragile in it. And if there was, I’m  _really_  sorry if it’s broken.”

“If it is, you can pay me back by buying me coffee tomorrow afternoon. Say, at 11?”

Blaine’s mouth dropped open. “You’re asking me out? Even though I just told you I’m allergic to cats and sneezed all over you and dropped your stuff?”

“Yes, I’m asking you out. You’re cute. And the cat allergy is not a big deal. I’m sure my girls will be very accommodating.” When Blaine looked confused, Kurt clarified, “My cats. They’re girls. Barbara, Patti, Bernadette and Stefani.”

“Barbara Streisand, Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, and…?” Blaine guessed.

“Lady GaGa,” Kurt finished. “But yes, you’re right. All very fabulous cats named after some very fabulous women.”

Blaine couldn’t help but grin. Kurt really was something else.

“So, coffee tomorrow at 11. I’ll bring my allergy medication.”

“It’s a date. I’ll be the one smelling of  _eau de_  four cats.”

Blaine laughed, and watched as Kurt turned to leave, picking up the box and walking away down the hall.

And well, some things were just worth sneezing six times in a row for.


End file.
